West=On=Track

History

The Kiltimagh Railway
Disaster of 1916

From "The Burma Road"
(Swinford Historical Society 1996)

By Michael Comer

By 1900 the safety systems on Irish Railways were well
developed to avoid collisions and to produce safe transport
for passengers. Despite this, one of the worst accidents on
Irish Railways occurred just outside Kiltimagh Station, on
the Swinford side, in December, 1916, in which 6 railway
staff were killed and ten injured, some very seriously.

Two goods trains collided head on, about three quarters
of a mile from Kiltimagh station on a damp foggy December
evening at about 5.45 p.m. One of the trains had left
Limerick at 8 a.m. that Monday, 19th, en route to
Tubbercurry a distance of 124 miles. It consisted of 21 flat
wagons with drop sides each full of gravel sand and
chippings (ballast), and a brake van at each end. In
addition to the crew of driver, fireman, conductor and
brakeman there were twelve permanent way workers in the
front van.

The other train was a special from Sligo consisting of
empty cattle wagons picked up at all stations along the
route to be returned to Tuam for washing and disinfecting.
The ballast train had already crossed trains at Ennis, Gort,
Athenry, Tuam and Claremorris. The goods special up from
Sligo was held at Swinford to allow the ballast to cross
down to Tubbercurry. The ballast got stuck on the hill out
of Claremorris skidding on the wet rails and had to be
banked up the gradient (it got a push from another engine
from behind). With the delay caused at Claremorris, it was
decided to allow the special up to Kiltimagh and cross the
trains there.

The Swinford staff would be exchanged at Kiltimagh to
show that the section was clear. Unfortunately the ballast
driver missed the danger signal at Kiltimagh and went
through the station. He was from Limerick as were all the
others, and was unfamiliar with the line. In addition the
evening was damp, foggy and dark as he approached Kiltimagh
so it is perhaps understandable that he missed both the
danger signals. Five men in the front brake van died at the
scene and another died on his way to hospital. Miraculously
none of the crew of either train was badly injured. Some of
them were able to jump out. The van was smashed so badly
however, that heavy lifting gear had to be borrowed from
M.G.W.R. and brought from Broadstone in Dublin to get the
injured released and re-rail the damaged engines.

The dead were brought to Kiltimagh Station and laid out
in the waiting room from where a special train brought the
remains to Limerick. The line was repaired and opened for
traffic on Wednesday, 21st, just two days later. An inquest
was held in Swinford on the 28th December and found no blame
attached to any of the staff of Kiltimagh Station but added
there was neglect, not yet defined, of some official or
officials of the company.